In High Profile Case, Two Romanian 'Witches' Arrested : The Two-WayThe government said the two self-professed witches were threatening celebrities with evil spells. One TV star handed over close to $600,000 in exchange for spells.

Romanian witch Mihaela Minca holds cards during an interview with The Associated Press in Mogosoaia, Romania in January.

Vadim Ghirda/AP

Witches. Police. Blackmail. And TV celebrities.

Yep, that caught our attention, too, so we had to pass along a strange case that has made its way to court in Romania. The government has arrested two self-professed witches who are accused of blackmailing their clients. The AP reports:

"Police spokesman Christian Ciocan said the two women — who go by the single names of Melissa and Vanessa — approached public figures promising to help them overcome work or love difficulties, and help them break curses.

"He said the women initially charged very little, but then, as their victims became hooked on their services, increased their prices.

"Ciocan cited one case where the victim — who later publicly identified herself as TV personality Oana Zavoranu — handed over €450,000 (US$593,000) in cash and property in exchange for spells."

The Romanian newspaper Jurnalul Naţional reports that the blackmailing charges stem from accusations that Melissa and Vanessa would threaten their clients with evil spells if they didn't fork up cash. Also, this case comes just a day after Parliament protested against legislation that would have outlawed "witchcraft, curses and spells."

The AP reports that for their part the witches say Zavoranu is just angry because "she asked them to cast a spell on her mother that would kill her, but the mother is still alive."